In Memory: The Elvis Presley Death that Stunned America, 40 years later

By Arden Lambert | August 15, 2017

August 16 1977 was a mourning day for America after King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley dropped the curtain and was proclaimed dead at 42.

Cause of Death, Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was found lifeless in his bathroom at Graceland Mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. He was found unresponsive by her then girlfriend, Ginger Alden.

He was proclaimed dead after being rushed in the hospital and according to the medical diagnosis, his demise was caused of cardiac arrhythmia. His compulsive use of opioids and prescription pills was allegedly a great player of this diagnosis.

Joel Williamson also wrote his testament to the medical diagnosis of Elvis Presley:

“Perhaps involving a reaction to the codeine and attempts to move his bowels he experienced pain and fright while sitting on the toilet. Alarmed, he stood up, dropped the book he was reading, stumbled forward, and fell face down in the fetal position. He struggled weakly and drooled on the rug. Unable to breathe, he died Attempts to revive him failed, and death was officially pronounced at 3:30 p.m. at Baptist Memorial Hospital.”

On her eye witness account, Alden recalled how she saw her flame on his lifeless state. She said:

“Elvis looked as if his entire body had completely frozen in a seated position while using the commode and then had fallen forward, in that fixed position, directly in front of it. It was clear that, from the time whatever hit him to the moment he had landed on the floor, Elvis hadn’t moved.”

With the news of his death, legion of fans are said to have called White House and demanded Washington to declare August 16th as a national mourning day to the late King of Rock and Roll. The POTUS, Jimmy Carter did not dilly dally on addressing the greatest loss of USA and quickly made a statement about Elvis Presley’s death.

While a lot of questions and controversies surrounded the rock and roll legend’s death, it cannot be denied that his death was irreversible and definitely affected a lot of people in the world.

Currently, Elvis Presley is still one of the timeless entities of art that ever graced this earth and it would be impossible to forget how his tragedy caused a surge of realizations about fame, talent and the untold stories that hide behind it.